Acts 14:22 …strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.

In pain, we want to lay our burdens down. In pain, there are many times when we do not want to carry on. Our eyes may fill with tears as we undergo days, weeks, months, or years of hardship without end. Yet, we must carry on, for God has made a perfect place for us. God expects us not to give up but to get ahead of our trials. Certainly, many of our trials are much larger than we are. However, God is bigger than all of our trials combined. The size of God dwarfs the size of creation infinite sizes over. In the span of time, from eons in the past to eons into the future, our many hardships today melt away into the infinite glory, grace, and love of God. Our pain today shall melt away into God's joy in the morning. Our anguish today shall be as no more in His power of love pouring over us each moment. Praise His Name. Amen.

Romans 12:12 Be Joyful In Hope, Patient In Affliction, Faithful In Prayer.

The words of the scripture inspire us and give us power to move forward. Most of the words of the scripture are easy to read and easy to think about. Our problem is the words of the scripture are not always easy to do. When we are in pain, we find being joyful in hope difficult because our pain cancels out of our joy. Our afflictions make us impatient because we want our afflictions to be gone yesterday. Our afflictions make praying difficult. Then what are we to do? What we are to do is keep traveling our path, no matter how rough and difficult our path may be. We must affirm over and over again our hope is in Christ who delivers to us a perfect eternal life after this life is over. We must affirm over and over again every dream we could ever dream in Christ will be realized either in this life or most certainly in our eternal life to come. In our afflictions we must use the force of our will and the power of God to be patient as we wait upon Him to do His mighty work within us. We must always keep in mind, our God reigns and He does deliver for us in His time, place, and will. We must be faithful in prayer, even if we must pray in pain. When we pray in pain, when we pray at times when we seem to have no connection to God, He still hears us. In our pain, God hears us just as He hears us when we are not in pain. When we struggle to pray, God opens a special door of His heart to hear us all the more.

Hebrews 13:6 So We Say With Confidence, "The Lord Is My Helper; I Will Not Be Afraid. What Can Man Do To Me?"

Not only must we deal with pain and suffering in our life, we must also deal with the sinfulness of others. Being in a weakened state because of our pain, our weakened state can make us vulnerable. Being weak and vulnerable we can grow to fear others, fear our future, and fear living in pain. When we face these kinds of fears, we must remind ourselves we are not alone. Not only are we not alone, we have a protector and helper. Knowing Christ is with us through every adversity can make all the difference in our ability to stay strong in the face of adversities of any kind. Over the course of our life, Christ will make a way for us to spiritually prosper in poverty. Christ provides us with His protective armor. Because we have Christ's protective armor, we have eternal life if we accept Him as our savior and Lord. By having Christ as our savior, we will look back and also exclaim "What can man do to me?"

Hebrews 13:5 Keep Your Lives Free From The Love Of Money And Be Content With What You Have, Because God Has Said, "Never Will I Leave You; Never Will I Forsake You."

Being content when we are in pain can seem to be impossible. Absorbing the full and complete truth about Christ being with us, no matter who, where, or what we are can also seem an incomprehensible truth. However incomprehensible the scripture may seem to be, the scripture is the truth of God. The scripture is full of God's essential rules for living a better life. God tells us over and over again He will never leave us or forsake us. The reason God wants to assure us He will never leave us or forsake us is because we are alone. Even when we live with many others, we live with only our own life, thoughts, feelings, and issues. We can share our life with others, but our life belongs only to each of us. Our life is lonely because of our inability to fully share ourselves with anyone else. However, there is an exception to our not sharing our life with anyone. Although we might not realize it, we share our life with God…fully and completely. God knows everything about us. God even knows about the parts of our life of which we are not aware. In spite of our many mistakes, God is loving, kind, and forgiving. God will forgive us of our sins and give us eternal life if we turn away from our sins and accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.

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Psalm 37:25 I Was Young And Now I Am Old, Yet I Have Never Seen The Righteous Forsaken Or Their Children Begging Bread.

There are many advantages to being righteous. When we are in pain and suffering, we are weakened and can be easily tempted away from being righteous. We must maintain our self-control and self-discipline at all costs. Being righteous in the face of pain and suffering is difficult because pain and suffering eats away at our heart and soul. We must let ourselves grow old in wisdom. We must live each minute, minute to minute, in order not to fall away into sinful darkness. We must have daily conversations with Jesus to maintain our balance in a world gone badly astray.

Psalm 37:28 They (The Lord's Faithful Ones) Will Be Protected Forever, But The Offspring Of The Wicked Will Be Cut Off; Parenthetical remark added

"It is not suffering as such that is most deeply feared but suffering that degrades." Susan Sontag (b. 1933), U.S. essayist. AIDS and Its Metaphors, ch. 4 (1989). Indeed, suffering degrades. Suffering degrades us physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. In most respects, human beings are a wicked lot. We are sinners all. All of us must pay the price of death because we are fallen sinners. We must also remember Christ weeps for us. He weeps for us when we suffer. He weeps for us when we falter. We can make sense of suffering only if we make sense about how God is not responsible for it, does not "allow" it, and is not pleased with it. In the degradation of our suffering, we can reach out to Christ. In Him and through Him we shall not just have a better time or a better day. In Christ and through Him we shall have glorious infinite tomorrows.

Isaiah 12:2 The Lord, The Lord, Is My Strength And My Song; He Has Become My Salvation."

In pain, we need a savior. When we are in pain we want a savior in the here and now to stop the pain. Pain makes us secular. Pain blinds us to any kind of tomorrow because we do not want a pain-filled tomorrow any more than we want a pain-filled today. What is the answer? We do not have a secular answer about finding an earthly savior. Even if we could find an earthly savior, the earthly savior would still be a human being. Sooner or later, our earthly savior would end up dying. Our pain demands more. Our pain demands we find not a secular savior like drugs or alcohol. Our pain making demands upon us must cause us to look outside our earth to heaven. Our salvation for our soul is Christ. The way our pain stops is in the hands of Christ when we see Him in heaven. When we think about Christ seeing us in heaven we are strengthened. We are able to sing a new song here on earth, even if sung in a feeble voice, we have a new song in our heart.

Isaiah 12:2 Surely God Is My Salvation; I Will Trust And Not Be Afraid.

Being in so much pain, how can we trust? Being in so much pain, how can we not be afraid? On a purely human level, without an all powerful God, we are doomed. However, we need not be doomed. With Christ, we have eternity where there is no doom. Because we have Christ, with His eternity soon to become our eternity, we can trust and feel no fear. Even when we face the worst of the worst in this life, we know in just a little while we will possess the best of the best in Christ's love and power in heaven above. When we do not have a cure for our pain or condition here on earth, Christ is with us in the here and now to help us until we have His cure in heaven. Our fear is human but Christ gives us His power so we will not be afraid.

Hebrews 13:6 So We Say With Confidence, "The Lord Is My Helper; I Will Not Be Afraid. What Can Man Do To Me?"

Fear, anger, love, and pain are the four basic human emotions. Enough pain suffered long enough brings fear of more pain. Pain suffered over years can create post-traumatic stress disorder. In pain, or in fear, or in anger, we need help. Perhaps we might never admit we need help. However, to admit we need help gives us a strategic advantage in gaining victory over the obstacles pain puts in our path. Each of us has a heavenly helper. Our heavenly helper is our Lord Jesus Christ. Of all the helping people in the world, Jesus is our best. Jesus will be with us forever. He will not desert us in our hour of need. He will not turn away from us when we make a mistake. He will comfort us in our pain. We need never fear what Jesus will do. In Jesus, we are secure forever. In Jesus, we have a person who will be with us forever.

2 Cor. 1:10 He Has Delivered Us From Such A Deadly Peril, And He Will Deliver Us. On Him We Have Set Our Hope That He Will Continue To Deliver Us,

If you are living in pain, your best medicine is hope for a better time in the future. When we lose hope, we lose our life. Hope is the fuel of life. We may not face a deadly peril on earth each moment, but we do face a deadly peril at some point in our life. At some point our life will end when the deadly peril becomes reality. We can say Christ has delivered us from a deadly peril because we have eternal life. We can hope for an eternal life and our hope will be rewarded. Our hope for a better day with less pain on earth will be realized when we ascend to heaven's shore. Although we may have pain here on earth, Christ loves us and He will give us all we could ever dream of having in heaven, then some.

1 Samuel 12:22 For The Sake Of His Great Name The Lord Will Not Reject His People, Because The Lord Was Pleased To Make You His Own.

Let's be honest. Let's tell the truth. Sometimes we don't feel like we are His own. Sometimes we feel rejected. We feel put upon. We feel like aliens in a foreign land. Our pain and trials can destroy us if we let them. Yet, no matter how we feel, the truth is God loves us. In our pain, God is still with us. We do not always know why God does not make the pain go away. We do not know why Satan is allowed to exist. We do know there will come a time when all things are made right. There will come a time when Satan will be banned to the innermost parts of hell never to be let out again. When the final event of our life occurs, we shall see Jesus. We shall not just see Him, but we shall rejoice with Him in His presence. We shall not suffer pain any more. Our broken hearts shall be mended. Our lives will be made totally new. Our battles every moment shall be no more. We shall have victory because we believed in Christ and we hung on and hung in until the very end. Praise His Name, Amen.

Psalm 37:28 For The Lord Loves The Just And Will Not Forsake His Faithful Ones.

In our pain, we need to hang on to the Lord. We need to hang on to what God will do for us in the future. We need to try to hang on to what the Lord is doing for us in the present moment. In pain, trials, or trouble, we can easily believe God has abandoned us. However, the truth is just the opposite. In the hours of our life when our pain is so intense there is nothing but the pain, we must hold on for just awhile longer. We must hold on because our Lord will not forsake us. There will come a day when we will be with Him. There will come a day when our pain shall be no more. There will come a day when we shall never weep again. A new life in glory awaits us. We must hang on for just awhile longer.

Proverbs 18:10 The Name Of The Lord Is A Strong Tower; The Righteous Run To It And Are Safe.

When we are in pain, we are weak. When we are in pain, the pain takes away our strength. In our weakness caused by our pain, we need a place to find strength. The greatest source of strength in the universe is the Creator of the universe. Our Savior, Christ Jesus, is the ultimate power. In Christ we can find all strength, all endurance, all compassion, all caring, and all love. Ultimately, Christ will make us a being of power…a being never to be afflicted with any kind of pain or weakness. We might find the thought of never being afflicted with any kind of pain or weakness to be unfathomable. However, our God can do what we cannot even begin to fathom. In the nothing of the beginning of creation, God created all that is. Surely, if God can create all that is from absolutely nothing, God can make a way so you will never be afflicted with any kind of pain or weakness…and He will.

Psalm 9:10 Those Who Know Your Name Will Trust In You, For You, Lord, Have Never Forsaken Those Who Seek You.

When we live in pain, we live alone. No matter how many people are around us, we are still alone because the pain cuts us off from others in our surroundings. Pain cuts us off from so much of the beauty of life. Yet, we must continue to seek the Lord. As long as we keep seeking Him, He will find us and be with us. He will not forsake us…ever! The truth is…we are not alone. We have never been alone because He has always been with us. When our eyes get blurry from our pain, the Lord is still with us to help us find our way. When we can no longer concentrate, the Lord lives in our mind to keep us focused. When the pain makes us not care anymore, He keeps our sense of humor alive. Most of all, the Lord is with us through the thick and thin. He is with us in our anger, hurt, pain, and frustration. He is with us because He loves us in ways we cannot fathom or easily understand.

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, Brothers, Since We Have Confidence To Enter The Most Holy Place By The Blood Of Jesus, By A New And Living Way Opened For Us Through The Curtain, That Is, His Body...

Our plague of pain and suffering gives us a unique perspective on what is important and unimportant. If the person in pain is with a group of people and they are all excited about going to The Most Holy Place, the person in pain might say, "You go on ahead. I will catch up later." This is not to say the person in pain is against God or Christ. This is to say the person in pain does not operate in the same way as those persons who do not suffer. In our example, we must ask "Does Jesus understand the person in pain? Does Jesus care about the person in pain?" What we can say is this: Yes, Jesus does understand the person in pain. We can say yes, Jesus does care about the person in pain. While the group of people goes on ahead and the person in pain is left behind, Jesus will be with the person left behind. Jesus is not so much concerned with formalities as He is with the pain of a person in mind, body, and spirit.

Things Are Being Worked Out

The Lord is always working for you. Things are being arranged for you. God is, right now, this instant, making things and setting things up for your going to a time of greater productivity and greater essence of work. You love to work. So God is now setting things up so you can work in greater efficiency, with fewer burdens and fewer hardships. The Lord is assembling a great puzzle for you to live within, knowing your mind will be fired as you are challenged by His love.

Hebrews 10:22 Let Us Draw Near To God With A Sincere Heart In Full Assurance Of Faith, Having Our Hearts Sprinkled To Cleanse Us From A Guilty Conscience And Having Our Bodies Washed With Pure Water.

Let us be honest. Pain can drive us to do and be what we know we should not do and be. Certainly, we know we are called to be humble, holy, godly, and devout. However, our pain, always caused by Satan, will push us, shove us, or drive us to be ungodly or think in ungodly ways. When we are being pushed around by our pain, we still have the power to draw near to God. We can never fully cleanse our heart, mind, and soul by ourselves, on our own. Even when we feel guilty, even when we are guilty, in God's mercy and grace, He will fix us. God will cleanse our heart and soul. God will cleanse us in ways we do not fully understand. God will cleanse us from our unrighteousness in ways we cannot do.

Isaiah 30:18 Yet The Lord Longs To Be Gracious To You; He Rises To Show You Compassion. For The Lord Is A God Of Justice. Blessed Are All Who Wait For Him!

We want our pain to stop. In pain, we can look around and see multitudes of people who are not suffering. Seeing others who are not suffering, we can feel like we are outcasts. We can feel like we are victims. We can feel like life has done us an injustice. We serve a God of compassion. God knows our plight. He knows how much we suffer. He knows how much of a price we have paid for being in suffering all of our days. If we open our heart to Him, He will then show us the magnitude of His love. Our Lord will not let us hurt or be hurt without giving us compensation when we are with Him in heaven. In heaven, things not only even out, all the good things that ever were or ever could be become reality forever. What we must do is wait for the Lord. Yes, waiting can be difficult, sometimes seemingly impossible. However, we shall not have to wait very long for the Lord sees us and He shall rescue us in an instant.

Lament. 3:25 The Lord Is Good To Those Whose Hope Is In Him, To The One Who Seeks Him;

In pain, we hope for an end to the pain. Those who are not living in pain or who do not know about what living in pain is like, will likely misunderstand about the need for hope. When we hope for a better day and time, let us put our hope in Christ. Certainly, we may need relief in the here and now. We also must put our heart and mind to work to understand our real need for relief is not so much relief in this life from the pains and trials we bear now. Our real need for real relief is from our destiny of eternal torment if we have not accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. When we put our heart and mind to work to see Jesus in the present time, we will find Him. We may find Him in ways we may not suspect, in places we did not know much about, and in times we were not aware. Conversely, when we think we cannot go on, not even for one more day, we must look upon His suffering on the cross for us. When we kneel before Him in His hour of greatest need and torment for us on the cross, our pain and issues of the moment seem a great deal less.

Psalm 84:10 Better Is One Day In Your Courts Than A Thousand Elsewhere; I Would Rather Be A Doorkeeper In The House Of My God Than Dwell In The Tents Of The Wicked.

Even when we are in pain, we are still to be humble in righteousness. When we are humble in righteousness, good things will be added to our life…even in our pain. Our humility cancels out any thought or behavior taking us away from God. When we come close to God then He will minister to us, He will bless us, and heal us of our infirmities. In this life, we will have trouble and pain. However, when we are humble in righteousness, the Lord gives us a form of insulation to keep the pain from destroying us. Living in humility, gives us a power…not the power to overcome a person, but the power to overcome our pain, even if for just a few moments. Ironically, a day in the heavenly realms might be a thousand or ten thousand days on earth, yet we will know not about days, weeks, months, or years when we are with Him. Even now, when we are fully immersed in His love and grace, time can seem to be no more.

Psalm 26:8 I Love The House Where You Live, O Lord, The Place Where Your Glory Dwells.

Our love for God, for Christ, and for His heavenly kingdom helps us transcend every hurt and pain. Our love for Him and His dwelling in heaven gives us a way to see beyond our present life. Pain makes us blind in many ways. Our love for God opens our heart and our spiritual eyes to see the wonders no words can ever describe. As we think about the power of God's love, we can then come against the devastation of pain. We must also remember there will come a time when we share the very existence of God in the most complete of ways. Today, on this earth, our existence is defined by our reality of pain, suffering, and sin. Interspersed in our present reality on earth, we can get glimpses of God's power and love. No human has ever fully and completely seen God. However, there will come a time when our earthly reality shall pass away as we cross over to a timeless land of glory and love divine.

Psalm 73:28 But As For Me, It Is Good To Be Near God. I Have Made The Sovereign Lord My Refuge; I Will Tell Of All Your Deeds.

When we are in pain, we need a refuge. When we are in pain, we need a place or someone who will shelter us and protect us. Christ is our shelter. Christ is our great Healer. The more we try to be near Christ, the closer Christ will be near us. Our pain drives us away from Christ. In the face of our pain, we must draw upon His power in our heart, life, and soul. In the battle we wage each day, we must at the very least, go to Him and tell Him we want to be near Him but we are being driven away. This single act of humility before Him, this single act of telling Him we want to be near Him while we are under attack, brings us close to Him and brings Him close to us.

Hebrews 6:19 We Have This Hope As An Anchor For The Soul, Firm And Secure. It Enters The Inner Sanctuary Behind The Curtain, 20 Where Jesus, Who Went Before Us, Has Entered On Our Behalf. He Has Become A High Priest Forever, In The Order Of Melchizedek.

In pain, we are subjected to every kind of darkness. In pain, our soul can be adrift. In pain, we can drift away from the Lord because we believe we have no hope. In pain we can drift away because pain is a great separator…separating us from God. Even when we are adrift, we have Jesus, who is not far off. We have Jesus in whom we can trust. We have Jesus to anchor our soul. Yes, we may drift away from Him but not far away. Jesus will not let us drift so far away we lose Him if we go to Him with our pleas and petitions. In our pain, we must kneel at the foot of His cross begging and pleading for His forgiving love to be poured over us. Pain can make us say, think, and do what we know is wrong. Yet, Christ is merciful to us. As our heart breaks from our drifting away, He will dry our tears and show us we shall live with Him in eternity. Praise His Name for rescuing us night and day.

Matthew 6:20 But Store Up For Yourselves Treasures In Heaven, Where Moth And Rust Do Not Destroy, And Where Thieves Do Not Break In And Steal. 21 For Where Your Treasure Is, There Your Heart Will Be Also.

In pain, our life can seem to have no treasures at all. In pain, we struggle to just get from one point to another. In pain, we can store up many treasures in our heart that are not of God's will. What do we do? What do we do when we have stored up the wrong treasures? A place to start is to find one treasure you believe God will embrace and love. The first treasure is the love of Christ. In pain, you may find the love of Christ to be a million miles away. However, you must hang on. You must never abandon God in any circumstance. In pain, we must sometimes go through the motions until God brings us to a place where our pain is gone. In pain, we must keep our mental picture of the ideal world or paradise. Our mental picture of our ideal world is the world we will inherit without our pain, except…none of our pictures of any of our ideal worlds will even be remotely close to the wonder and awe of the ideal world God has prepared for us.

Rev. 21:4 He Will Wipe Every Tear From Their Eyes. There Will Be No More Death Or Mourning Or Crying Or Pain, For The Old Order Of Things Has Passed Away."

We long for a time of no more pain, no more hurt, no more temptation, no more evil. Especially when we are in pain, we long to be made free of our many infirmities. In pain, we want someone to take away our tears. We want someone to take away our mourning…our mourning for those who have been taken from us. We want someone to take away our mourning caused by earthly grief, disappointments, and mistakes. Our hope will not be disappointed. One day, we know not the day or the hour, Christ will reappear upon the earth and all things will be changed. The old order of things will have been no more. A new order will appear upon the earth. There will be joy and peace unending. No one will die. No one will suffer. No one will feel pain any more. Love will reign in every heart, in every home, in every land.

Col. 3:2 Set Your Minds On Things Above, Not On Earthly Things.

Pain makes us think about the pain and not much else. Pain is an earthly thing. In setting our mind on God and His heavenly things, we must do so to try and alleviate some of the effects of what pain does to us. When we set our minds on things above, we take our mind out of this world and put our mind into the heavenly realms. In the heavenly realms we will be fully and totally healed. We will not be suffering. The closer we can come to putting our mind on heavenly things in the here and now, the closer we come to finding a way to deal with our pain. When we do meditation, we can think about heaven or things above rather than the darkness of pain here on earth. In heaven, we have power undreamed of here on earth. Heaven is not our present reality. Heaven is a place we know little about but a place just as real as our present earth. Heaven is a place defined by love and peace flowing from God and Christ the Son.

Job 3:17 There The Wicked Cease From Turmoil, And There The Weary Are At Rest.

In pain we can have a level of madness for the pain makes us do what we might not want to do. In pain, the wicked and evil tentacles of Satan reach out to crush us. In heaven, Satan no longer offends. In heaven, Christ reigns forever and ever. In heaven, all turmoil is gone. The weary find new life where new days of glory abound. In pain, every hour we labor against an invisible foe, but a foe more real than the visible. In heaven, there is. In heaven, the foe is vanquished. Heaven is a place where no evil lives. In heaven, we shall live in a place of purity beyond our capacity to comprehend.

John 14:2 In My Father's House Are Many Rooms; If It Were Not So, I Would Have Told You. I Am Going There To Prepare A Place For You. 3 And If I Go And Prepare A Place For You, I Will Come Back And Take You To Be With Me That You Also May Be Where I Am.

In the pain of our life, we can easily lose hope. In pain, we lose the vision to see ahead to better days. This assertion by Jesus gives us a hope not just for an eternal life, but for an eternal life with Him in heaven. No matter where we live or how we live on earth, pain destroys our ability to actually see and actually be in our surroundings. In heaven, we shall have a house or living space made by God especially for us. Jesus has already prepared a place for each of us. Our place in heaven will suit us in perfect fashion. We can look forward to living in a heavenly community where joy, peace, and love abound. We may never know the earthly dimensions of our mansion in the sky. In fact, there may be no earthly dimensions of our mansion in the sky because earthly dimensions may not apply in heaven. Our heavenly home is a place where we can "be" or exist in perfect harmony with God. We shall work and not grow weary. We shall run and not grow tired. Our pain shall be no more. We shall be perfect in every way.

Hebrews 4:9 There Remains, Then, A Sabbath-Rest For The People Of God;

In our pain we need rest. Many times the pain takes away our ability to rest physically, emotionally, or spiritually. However, no matter how much the pain wears us out, God is our refuge. In Him, we can hide in the cleft of the rock for He is the Cleft. Eventually, when we go home to be with God, with Jesus, and with the angels, we shall have an eternal rest but we shall not sleep. In heaven, our rest shall be instantly complete while we are awake in joy and excitement at finally being home. On earth, in the here and now, even though we are in pain, we can rest in the knowledge God has worked out our future with Him. In only the twinkling of an eye, in only a tiny wisp of a moment, we shall not be here but over there on the golden shore. We shall be free of all alarm, all temptations, all afflictions, and all our pain forever. What a glorious hope we have, knowing our hope shall become reality!

Psalm 42:11 Why Are You Downcast, O My Soul? Why So Disturbed Within Me? Put Your Hope In God, For I Will Yet Praise Him, My Savior And My God.

In pain, we need hope. Without hope, the demons come and dance on our soul. With hope, our soul is not so downcast. In hope, we can look up rather than down. In hope we can see what only God can see. In hope, we can praise God for His power in our life. The hope of Christ is our fuel to keep us going hour to hour. Empowered and fueled up, we do have the capacity to praise God for giving us hope for a better day and a better eternity. The Lord will not disappoint us. The Lord will only lead us to places full of light, love, and hope. In our darkest times, we are not alone. In our loneliness, we are not alone.

Psalm 10:17 You Hear, O Lord, The Desire Of The Afflicted; You Encourage Them, And You Listen To Their Cry,

In our pain, we need a listening ear. We need someone who totally understands us. We need someone to encourage us. We need someone who sees and knows our pain. We have Someone. Our Someone is Jesus. Every time we fall down or fall apart, every time we are so full of pain we cannot see, every time we have no power, He is with us. He is with us to see us through the darkness. He is with us to give us His light so we do not stumble and fall in the dark hours. He is with us to give us power to move about another day. He is with us to bring His peace and love to the world. He does not want us to lose heart. He wants our best even when we are beset by our worst.

Psalm 86:5 You Are Forgiving And Good, O Lord, Abounding In Love To All Who Call To You.

Whenever we are in pain, our ideas and perspectives about God can become distorted. We can think God is the source of our pain when He is not. We can lapse into anger and unrighteousness. We can think no one loves us. We can become isolated and alone. However, God does not conform to our ideas of Him. God is a being of forgiveness. When we hold God to blame for our pain, God forgives us for our error in thinking. God is good in every possible way we can conceive of good and goodness. In all the rotten aspects of our dark present world, God is all goodness and light. In our pain, we must know Him as our God of love. We must remind ourselves God's healing love is for us, in us, all around us, above us, before us, and under us. We must remember God's healing love is infinite.

Psalm 50:15 And Call Upon Me In The Day Of Trouble; I Will Deliver You, And You Will Honor Me.

When we are in trouble…we can call a helpline. We can call a tech support number. Perhaps we can call upon others. However, no person, or company, or entity can help us when we face a real day of trouble.

When the doctor says it's…
When we get a call in the middle of the night saying…
When a loved one calls to tell us the worst about…

When we have a day of trouble we have someone who we can call upon to come to our aid. We have someone who will encourage us to keep going. We have someone who will never leave us or desert us, no matter how much trouble we might face. We are not alone in this world. We have someone with us every moment. His name is Jesus.

Psalm 102:19-20 "The Lord Looked Down From His Sanctuary On High, From Heaven He Viewed The Earth, To Hear The Groans Of The Prisoners And Release Those Condemned To Death."

So often in our pain, we think God is not listening. In our pain, we think He no longer loves us or cares about us. In our pain, we can be mistaken in our thinking God has left us alone, as orphans to be devoured by the darkness. God's reality is just the opposite of what we so easily think about Him. God is with us every moment. God knows our struggles. He hears the groans and pleas of those who suffer. Christ came to the world to release us from the bondage of our sin, our pain, and from death. In Christ, we have life eternal. Because Christ died and rose again for us, we are free. We are free of all our trials the moment Christ calls us home to be with Him in eternity. Someday, we shall be with Him. We shall sail above the clouds and above the stars…to a place where only peace, love, and grace prevail.

Isaiah 63:9 In All Their Distress He Too Was Distressed, And The Angel Of His Presence Saved Them. In His Love And Mercy He Redeemed Them; He Lifted Them Up And Carried Them All The Days Of Old.

In our pain, we must be aware about how much we are carried by the Lord. In our pain and trials, the Lord lifts us up every moment. Christ wants only the best from us and for us. Christ will be our defender all of our days. When trouble befalls us, Christ is with us to see us through our trouble. Christ gave Himself for us so we could be saved through Him. In the last moments of our earthly life, the Lord's angels will stand guard over us until it is time to take us sailing above the clouds into our new eternal home. We should have no concern for our future days because Christ has carved in indelible stone a heavenly destiny for us if we would but call Him Lord.

Hebrews 4:15 For We Do Not Have A High Priest Who Is Unable To Sympathize With Our Weaknesses, But We Have One Who Has Been Tempted In Every Way, Just As We Are--Yet Was Without Sin.

Not only do we have our dreadful pain, we have our dreadful sin. Whether we have pain or not, we must resist every temptation. When we resist, God sees our struggle. He knows how much we hurt during the time we resist. God wants us to be holy and devout. What do we want? Do we want to be holy and devout bad enough to exert our will to resist temptation? We must understand we do not resist temptation alone. Christ is with us as we resist. Christ wants us to resist so we can stay closer to Him. When we do not resist temptation, we fall farther and farther away from Him. If we do not resist, we endanger our soul. Fallen far enough, we reject Christ. Fallen far enough, with our rejection of Christ, we have no hope of ever living beyond our earthly life.

Luke 11:33 No One Lights A Lamp And Puts It In A Place Where It Will Be Hidden, Or Under A Bowl. Instead He Puts It On Its Stand, So That Those Who Come In May See The Light.

We are not to draw attention to the darkness of our pain. We are to show others the Light of Christ. We are to light up the life of others. We are not to diminish others with any kind of darkness. When others face difficulties we are to lighten their load. We are to give encouragement. Our pain is to be used to glorify God without drawing attention to our pain. The light of Christ, the light we are to show others, is the healing light of our Lord. In every matter, whether we are in pain or not, we are to be Christ's child. When we are His child, we begin to light up the part of the world Christ has given us. We do not rule the world. However, God gave us a tiny portion of the world called our life over which we can rule. No matter who we are, or where we are, we are to be Christ's person in all ways at all times. When we have let the light of Christ shine out from within our heart, we will leave the earth better for our being alive.

Psalm 116:1 I Love The Lord, For He Heard My Voice; He Heard My Cry For Mercy. 2 Because He Turned His Ear To Me, I Will Call On Him As Long As I Live. 3 The Cords Of Death Entangled Me, The Anguish Of The Grave Came Upon Me; I Was Overcome By Trouble And Sorrow. 4 Then I Called On The Name Of The Lord: "O Lord, Save Me!"

In our pain, we can reach our moments of desperation. We fall down. We make mistakes. We go the direction opposite of what the Lord wants us to go. We can love what God detests. We can be absorbed in what is sinful. In our fallen state, when we see what we have done, when we cry out to the Lord for mercy, He will come to us. When we are overcome with our sorrow, He will come to us and comfort us. When we have fallen and the chords of death are pulling us down to the pit, Christ Jesus will rescue us from the inescapable darkness. Before we ask Him, He hears our crying. Before we ask Him, He brings us His consolation. Before we ask Him, He cleanses us of every unrighteousness. The Lord's compassion knows no bounds. The Lord's love for us knows no limits.

Matthew 8:17 This Was To Fulfill What Was Spoken Through The Prophet Isaiah: "He Took Up Our Infirmities And Carried Our Diseases."

When we hurt, Jesus knows. Jesus doesn't just intellectually know about our hurt. Jesus knows about our hurt because He has carried and is now carrying our hurt. We do not serve a God who does not want to be a part of our life. We serve a God who IS a part of our life if we ask Him to come into our heart. Our Jesus, will at the end of or life, take all of our hurt, pain, mistakes, and suffering into His nail-scarred hands. He will make every awful moment disappear forever. He will erase every scar with His scars. He will erase every hurt with His love and grace. Although we must wait for Him to do His perfect work in us, while we are waiting He will be with us, telling us how much He loves us in order to give us His sustaining power until the great day of our crossing over to see Him face to face.

Zech. 2:8 For This Is What The Lord Almighty Says: "After He Has Honored Me And Has Sent Me Against The Nations That Have Plundered You--For Whoever Touches You Touches The Apple Of His Eye"

There is a consequence to those who inflict pain and suffering upon others. God is not remote and far off. God deals with people who inflict pain and suffering upon others. We do not always see the consequences of doing evil. Of course, we see the headlines about evil people being punished. What we do not see are the consequences of doing evil for those persons who seem to "get away with it." Be assured, people who seem to "get away with it" will stand before God's judgment seat. No one can escape the infinite hand of God. No one can escape from God's infinite wrath when a person has decided to go against God. It may seem God will let anyone go in any direction they desire. For many people who do not love God with all their heart, all their soul, and all their might, God will let them move out of His protective hand. In our pain and suffering, we can often feel angry God is not helping us. However, we must never move away from Him. Even if we are angry with Him, we must always call Him Lord and do as He asks us to do.

Psalm 142:3 When My Spirit Grows Faint Within Me, It Is You Who Know My Way. In The Path Where I Walk Men Have Hidden A Snare For Me.

Indeed, our spirits do grow faint within us. We face so many obstacles at every point in our life! You would think getting older would be a time when obstacles are few. On Earth, we can live what looks like a perfect life. We can receive the highest rewards and honors given to us by men and women. However, persons who are getting older find they have more obstacles than ever. At every age, we must come against what Satan has designed to destroy us. Yet, for those of us who have accepted Christ as Lord, we shall see Him face to face. When we see Him face to face, He shall give us an eternal life where there are no more obstacles. He shall give us a life where there is no more death, no more crying, and no more mourning. In heaven, we shall not have those who are hiding snares to entrap us. In heaven, we shall have a perfect life forever. Praise His Name. Amen.

Job 23:10 But He Knows The Way That I Take; When He Has Tested Me, I Will Come Forth As Gold.

The prophet named Job knew suffering. Job made an affirmation about what suffering would NOT do to him. Job affirmed God's power in Job's life. Job affirmed suffering would enrich his life, rather than making Job poor. Each of us must affirm our suffering will make us better, not bitter. Each of us must commit our life to become as gold. When we make commitments to be better not bitter, God hears us and God will be with us to give us His power in all matters. God knows our every need. God knows our every hurt and heartache. When we commit our life to walking only God's path, we will always gain more than we could ever lose.

Hebrews 2:18 Because He Himself Suffered When He Was Tempted, He Is Able To Help Those Who Are Being Tempted.

Temptation is suffering. The more we resist temptation, the more suffering we must endure. The pain we suffer, whether from resisting temptation or from other sources, will cause Christ to help us. Christ suffered every possible pain. Christ knows your suffering. Christ knows you suffer. He knows how you suffer and when you suffer. In your pain, Christ will help you. He will help you see over the horizon to a new tomorrow. Christ will give you the power, minute by minute, to deal with every hurt, pain, and trauma. When you are tempted and torn apart, Christ will come to you and help you. Christ understands your temptation. Christ understands how uncontrollable your temptation seems to be. Draw as close as you can to God and Jesus will make you victorious over your every darkness.

Isaiah 53:3 He Was Despised And Rejected By Men, A Man Of Sorrows, And Familiar With Suffering. Like One From Whom Men Hide Their Faces He Was Despised, And We Esteemed Him Not.

When we are in pain, the Lord is with us. He knows our pain. He suffers with us because He lives in our heart. He does not live apart from us in any respect. Every moment of our pain He feels our pain with us. In our dark hours, He calls out to us. In the hours of our darkness, He is with us giving us His comforting love. We need never feel alone, although we do feel alone in our pain. Knowing our sorrows is not enough for Christ. There will come a time, a time of glory, when He will take us to be with Him. There will come a time when He will take us to be with Him and all our suffering will be turned into joy unspeakable.

Col. 2:9 For In Christ All The Fullness Of The Deity Lives In Bodily Form, 10 And You Have Been Given Fullness In Christ, Who Is The Head Over Every Power And Authority.

…you have been given…

In pain, we need. We may not want to need. We may be revolted by the very idea of needing because of our pain. However, whatever needs we have ever had in any respect, shall not be just filled by God, our needs shall be become non-existent in God's infinite love. We have been given all things. We have been given love unbounded. We have been given infinite grace. In our future, in our days yet to be, we shall never have a need of any kind again. Our times of aloneness shall be gone. Our pain shall be no more. Our worry shall vanish. Our regrets shall be vanquished. Whatever kind of life we have known on the earth shall be replaced by the glory and splendor of Almighty God.

Titus 2:13 While We Wait For The Blessed Hope--The Glorious Appearing Of Our Great God And Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 Who Gave Himself For Us To Redeem Us From All Wickedness And To Purify For Himself A People That Are His Very Own, Eager To Do What Is Good.

Under normal circumstances waiting is difficult. When we are in pain, waiting is even more difficult…sometimes waiting seems to be impossible because of our pain. When we are in pain and we must wait we need to rest our heart, mind, and soul in the love of God. In the love of God we can see into a place called heaven. When we see into heaven, we can see Jesus waiting for us or we can see Jesus coming to earth as He did so long ago. When we see Jesus, we are filled with an eternal hope. So no matter how much we must wait, our waiting can be borne up by us. In Christ, we have the ability to be patient for we know we shall see Him face to face in the future. When we think and ponder, even in our pain, we know He gave His life for our life. We know He wants us to be pure and holy, without spot or blemish. We know He has called us to be His very own whether we are in pain or out of pain.

Romans 8:32 He Who Did Not Spare His Own Son, But Gave Him Up For Us All--How Will He Not Also, Along With Him, Graciously Give Us All Things?

"All things" are possible with God. "All things" is a lot to be given. Of course, most of us in pain know on a level not known by those who do not suffer how we will likely not be given "all things" on earth. However, in heaven, where the miraculous is a normal occurrence, we will indeed have "all things." We can try to imagine another life or lifetime or existence where "all things" belong to us. However, can we truly imagine "all things" even being possible? In truth, we cannot fully imagine "all things" because our finite mind cannot hold the knowledge, wisdom, power, and experience of "all things." "All things" to you would not be "all things" to someone else. Each person has a different idea as to what "all things" means. Yet, our God is faithful, loving, and wise. In His power, He can and will give each of us the kind of "all things" each of us will understand. We will be filled with a glory divine when we ascend to His other shore where pain and suffering do not exist. "All things" is of the infinite. "All things" is wrapped in the love of God carrying us forever to the reaches of heaven only to find we shall be coming around again for helping after helping of His mighty grace, love, and power.

John 1:16 From The Fullness Of His Grace We Have All Received One Blessing After Another.

In pain, we too often think we are not blessed, even cursed. Even in pain, we can count our blessings if we try. We must not live in a poverty of soul. Our soul is blessed by the power and love of Christ. When we begin to survey the wonders of God along with the wondrous blessings He has poured over us, our pain insulation becomes sustainable. We may never be normal because of our pain. We may never be able to do what normal people do. However, we can count our blessings, which in turn blesses our soul and the soul of all those with whom we have contact. In counting our blessings, we will come to see how our blessings come from God.

Ephes. 1:3 Praise Be To The God And Father Of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who Has Blessed Us In The Heavenly Realms With Every Spiritual Blessing In Christ.

In pain, we must hold on to what we know about God, even when we cannot experience what we know is real from Him. We must remain strong while we are in pain. We must not weaken or falter. We must continually look up, even in the blindness of our pain, for as long as we look up, God will surely bless us and keep us for that day when we shall rejoice with Him in glory. We must rejoice and give thanks, for even in our pain, our Lord is working for us each moment. Just from the fact we have spiritual blessings in our pain should give us great joy and the hope of living in greater joy in the life to come. Praise be to God for we can believe and know of His love for us. Praise be to God even in our pain we are still victors in Christ's name.

1 Peter 1:3 Praise Be To The God And Father Of Our Lord Jesus Christ! In His Great Mercy He Has Given Us New Birth Into A Living Hope Through The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ From The Dead,

We may be alive in our body. However, what about our soul? Our soul may be alive within us, but what is the direction of our soul? Is our soul pointed up toward our infinite God and Christ Jesus? Or is our soul pointed down toward Satan and eternal darkness? If we are not Christ's child, if we are condemned to eternal darkness because we have not accepted Him, we have no real hope in our life or in our soul. Our pain is increased even more when we are lost in the darkness. Our pain is lessened when we contemplate soaring above the clouds into a land of glory and grace where we shall never suffer again. In this life full of so much pain and trials unending, we can be reborn in our heart and soul. While we are waiting for Christ to call us home to a painless and joy-filled eternity, we live in infinite hope, waiting with certainty beyond certainty for the day when we shall see Christ face to face.

Acts 3:26 When God Raised Up His Servant, He Sent Him First To You To Bless You By Turning Each Of You From Your Wicked Ways."

In pain, we can use our pain as the big excuse. We can use our pain to get ourselves out of doing things we can do. We can use our pain to get us out of being the person we can be. What we must strive to do in our pain, is live in complete honesty about ourselves. We must look at our mistakes, failures, and sin. We must look at our potentialities and possibilities. When we can be excruciatingly honest about ourselves, we can then begin to look at how Christ wants us to be His child. In our normal state of being, we are fallen creatures. We have fallen short of the glory of God. If we change and turn to Christ with a repentant heart, Christ will pour His living spirit over us. If we repent or change, our life will be blessed.

1 Peter 1:15 But Just As He Who Called You Is Holy, So Be Holy In All You Do; 16 For It Is Written: "Be Holy, Because I Am Holy."

The great quest of every life is the quest to be holy, godly, and devout before God. Terribly, looking at human behavior in the world, it seems few people accept or even recognize God's calling upon their heart to be holy, godly, and devout. God calls us and expects us to be holy, whether we are in pain or not. Our pain tries to drive us away from God and His holiness. We are to wage war against the unholy darkness in our life. Our pain is an unholy darkness. When we let the unholy darkness of our pain win out and drive us into sinfulness, the voice of Christ within us is smothered out. Our quest for holiness is the quest to keep the voice of Christ alive in our heart and soul. We keep the voice of Christ alive in us when we resist temptation. We keep the voice of Christ alive within us by kneeling at the foot of Christ's cross in holy contrition.

John 11:35 Jesus Wept.

This verse is the shortest verse in the Holy Bible. Although the verse is the shortest verse, the verse is among the most powerful. We know from this verse we have a friend in Jesus, a friend who cries. We have a friend, who, when we weep, He weeps. We have a friend in Jesus who loves us. We have a friend in Jesus who was once a human being. Jesus understands us better than we understand ourselves.

Our god in the form of Jesus is not some kind of cloud in some distant galaxy. Our god in the form of Jesus is a personal god. We have a god in Jesus who knows our pain. We have a god in Jesus who knows all about what we go through minute by minute. We are never alone, even if we think we are alone. Jesus, our best friend in the whole world is with us every moment. Jesus shares our joys, our heartaches, our frustrations, our trials, and our temptations. Jesus knows.

Jeremiah 50:34 Yet Their Redeemer Is Strong; The Lord Almighty Is His Name. He Will Vigorously Defend Their Cause So That He May Bring Rest To Their Land, But Unrest To Those Who Live In Babylon.

Those of us in pain want a new life. We do not want to live in pain any longer. Our pain is a terrible burden. We must keep in mind God will redeem us. God will give us a new life. God will, at some point in our life, give us eternal protection in the land of glory through Christ Jesus. In this time, in this place where we suffer, we do not suffer alone, for Christ is with us every moment. Even now, Christ is preparing a place for us. Christ is preparing a place for us where our mortal enemy cannot come. In Christ, we can have joyous rest, peace, and love without bounds or limits. God is the strongest power in all creation. God is our friend, not our enemy. Christ Jesus is our comforter.

Psalm 89:19 Once You Spoke In A Vision, To Your Faithful People You Said: "I Have Bestowed Strength On A Warrior; I Have Exalted A Young Man From Among The People."

No matter whom we are, male, female, rich, or poor, we are empowered by God. None of us will ever know the full extent of our empowerment by God until we see Christ face to face. When we are broken, in pain, fallen, defeated, or helpless, we must keep in mind we are empowered by God, even in the sorry state in which we may find ourselves. Each of us can be a warrior against the pervasive darkness all around us. God fully expects each of us to be His warrior on the earth. God expects us to be His warrior using His weapons of love, forgiveness, and holy contrition. In every case, God wants us to deliver victory for Him. In delivering victory for Him, we in turn achieve victory for ourselves.

John 3:18 Whoever Believes In Him Is Not Condemned, But Whoever Does Not Believe Stands Condemned Already Because He Has Not Believed In The Name Of God's One And Only Son.

Our pain must never be an excuse. God is more glorified when we come against the pain by being holy, godly, and devout than when we turn away from Him because of our pain. What we must strive to do at all costs is to maintain and grow our faith. Our pain is only temporary on this earth. Our life in heaven with Christ is eternal. We can live with our pain when we live minute to minute. We must be self-controlled and self-disciplined so our faith dominates our pain rather than letting our pain dominate our faith. God will always preserve your capacity to believe and have faith. Our job is to use our capacity to believe as we direct our faith toward God Almighty.

Romans 5:20 The Law Was Added So That The Trespass Might Increase. But Where Sin Increased, Grace Increased All The More,

We are all sinners. When we hurt, we are even more susceptible to doing wrong things. Our Lord is a god of grace. God wants to forgive us. God does not want to hold anything against us, whether we are in pain or not in pain. We must recognize, just because we are in pain does not give us an excuse not to exert ourselves toward being righteous. Whether we are in pain or not in pain, we must go to God to seek His forgiveness when we falter. The worst pain of all is the pain felt when a person turns away from God. Yet, even when we turn away from God, He still loves us and wants us to return to Him. When we return to Him, His healing grace is infinite.

Jude 1:24 To Him Who Is Able To Keep You From Falling And To Present You Before His Glorious Presence Without Fault And With Great Joy--

Let us tell the truth. In our worldly pain we have fallen, we cannot get up, and we often lack the hope we will ever walk again. However, our worldly observations, even our worldly truth leaves us sorely lacking. What we find in the scripture in general and in the above verse in particular is the reassurance we will stand in the glorious presence of God. Through Christ and our repentance, we will stand before God without any fault. On the day of our appearing before Him, we will be without any fault whatsoever. Before Christ in Heaven, we will have an eternity of great joy. In the pain of our existence on earth, we are robbed of our joy, but we shall be in joy eternal when we see Jesus face to face.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He Is Able To Save Completely Those Who Come To God Through Him, Because He Always Lives To Intercede For Them.

What we cannot do on our own, Christ will do with us, or for us. For all the moments of pain we want erased, Christ will erase. For all those people we want to live in eternity in Christ's heaven, somehow, some way, Christ will bring them to Himself in heaven if they are willing. In our ego, we want to be the one who determines a person's fate. However, we are not the great intercessor. Christ is the great intercessor. Our pain makes us forget who we serve. Our pain makes us want to serve ourselves rather than the Lord. In our efforts to intercede for others, we must pray for them trusting the Lord hears our prayers. Our pain often makes us want to arrange and organize our world, when instead, we must trust the Lord to take His actions in His wisdom and grace, according to His sweet will.

Romans 8:35 Who Shall Separate Us From The Love Of Christ? Shall Trouble Or Hardship Or Persecution Or Famine Or Nakedness Or Danger Or Sword?

No. Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ except when we give up and go Satan's way. Even when we go Satan's way, our Lord Jesus continually calls us to come to Him. Our pain can make us want to turn away from Christ. When we rebel because of our pain and we seem to have lost Christ, we must repent or turn away from our rebellion. When we rebel, our Lord Jesus weeps for us. In our reality, Christ does not often turn us to His way by invading our life. Christ wants us to come to Him of our own volition. Christ wants us to glorify Him of our own free will. Even in our pain, when we submit our heart, life, and soul to Christ, we too shall exclaim we shall not be separated from Him. We too shall exclaim, neither trouble, nor hardship, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor sword, and not even our pain shall separate us from the love of God.

Romans 8:38 For I Am Convinced That Neither Death Nor Life, Neither Angels Nor Demons, Neither The Present Nor The Future, Nor Any Powers, 39 Neither Height Nor Depth, Nor Anything Else In All Creation, Will Be Able To Separate Us From The Love Of God That Is In Christ Jesus Our Lord.

Pain separates us. Pain afflicts our heart and mind. In pain we think we are separated from the love of God. The satanic power of evil causing our pain wants us to cast aside all faith. The satanic power of evil is now, and will continue to try in the future, to get us to deny there is a God. However, the power of God's love and grace is stronger than any darkness. Within the power of God's love and grace, we will always be with Him and He will always be with us. We must not be deceived by the evil one. The power of God is within us every moment. The power of God will keep us in the palm of Christ's nail-scarred hand. For every moment we spend in pain, God has moved heaven so we have other infinite moments in comfort, joy, peace, and love in heaven.

Matthew 28:20 And Teaching Them To Obey Everything I Have Commanded You. And Surely I Am With You Always, To The Very End Of The Age."

We live in an ever-changing world. No one can keep up on all the changes and developments occurring before us. No matter how fast information travels, no matter how many sources of information we have, we cannot keep up. Amidst the swirl of changes in our life, one part of our life remains the same, His name is Jesus. In faith, we know He shall never leave us. We know He will indeed be with us until all things are no more. In faith, we know past the time when things are no more or even before that time, we shall see Him face to face. People, places, and things in our life are changing by the second, yet we have a Friend who will never change.

2 Tim. 4:17 But The Lord Stood At My Side And Gave Me Strength, So That Through Me The Message Might Be Fully Proclaimed And All The Gentiles Might Hear It. And I Was Delivered From The Lion's Mouth.

The Lord has in the past and will deliver us in the future from many dangers. We do not often know what the Lord is doing and when He is doing it. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is our (often) silent partner. We do not generally receive audible instructions. We do not generally receive faxes, emails, or letters written by God Himself. At the end of our earthly journey, we will find the lion lying down with the lamb. Past heaven's shores we will find the lion and the lamb romping and playing together and with us. Past this life, where pain is no more, we will be full of power and strength. Past this life, where pain is no more, we will live in freedom unknown on earth.

Rev. 1:18 I Am The Living One; I Was Dead, And Behold I Am Alive For Ever And Ever! And I Hold The Keys Of Death And Hades.

We think we see the end of our life. We may even think we see the end of all things. However, in our pain our vision of things to come can and often is, quite blurred. The great divide in our reality is the divide between life and death. In all cultures, in all places, in all times, we rightly grieve over those who have died. We grieve over those who have died because we cannot see across the great divide with 20-20 vision. However, each of us has a spiritual eye. We have a spiritual eye permitting us to see what is unseen on earth. The very core of our faith is a vision of Jesus waiting on the other shore of the great divide. We have eye witness accounts of Jesus walking the earth after He rose from the dead. Although our vision may be blurred as to the reality of what is on the other side, we can be sure Jesus is there, patiently waiting for us to join Him on our day of rejoicing.

Deut. 31:6 Be Strong And Courageous. Do Not Be Afraid Or Terrified Because Of Them, For The Lord Your God Goes With You; He Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You."

We are told by God to be strong. We are told by God to be courageous. God tells us these things because He knows we can weaken. God knows we can lose strength. God knows you need Him every hour. The constant and unrelenting presence of God is required if we are to have a victorious life in our pain. We can find strength in Christ our Savior. We can find courage by surrendering our total being up to Christ. We find strength and courage when we abandon all of our heart and soul to do only God's will. We are no longer terrified of those forces seeking to destroy us when we have taken on the cloak of invincibility in Christ Jesus. When we are selfish in our pain, we make ourselves weak. When we make ourselves weak due to our selfishness, we lose courage, hope, and a vision of our time in the future when we are with Christ.

John 14:18 I Will Not Leave You As Orphans; I Will Come To You.

We must face reality. Our grim reality is that we are orphans in our pain. So many times we have no one to help us. We are left helpless because the pain is assaulting us. We need relief from the pain but there is no relief. We look for Jesus but because of our pain and lack of faith, we cannot find Him. These are the realities. However, there is another reality beyond our knowing. There is another reality where Jesus lives, works, and has His being. When we see the reality of Jesus, we see He is with us every hour. When we need Him then He will be with us before we ever ask. When we hurt and feel all alone, Jesus comes to us to give us comfort and healing in our heart, mind, soul, and body.

Psalm 27:10 Though My Father And Mother Forsake Me, The Lord Will Receive Me.

Many people forsake us. People we trust can violate our trust. People we thought we knew, turn out to be someone else who we do not really know. Then there is our friend Jesus. God, our Father, Jesus, our Lord, and the Holy Spirit who is with us night and day will never leave us or forsake us. We can feel like we are the only person on earth, but we are not. We can feel like no one understands us, but we would be wrong. Of all the life-changing truths given to us in the bible, the idea about God being with us is the most profound and the most life-changing. Not only are we not alone, we have someone who is with us who loves us without conditions.

Genesis 28:15 I Am With You And Will Watch Over You Wherever You Go, And I Will Bring You Back To This Land. I Will Not Leave You Until I Have Done What I Have Promised You."

When we think we are lost, we have a guide who will take us to be where He is. When we are sad, we have a comforter to be with us. When we do not know where we are going, we have a Savior who points us to His path leading to His home in eternal life. When we have lost all hope, we have Christ who is the source of all hope…Christ who lives within us every moment of our life. When we are in pain, we have a great healer to assuage our every hurt. We have a promised land flowing with milk and honey…a place called heaven where nothing shall ever rust or fade. We have a promised land full of the light and life of God almighty. We have a place where we shall find healing for all time.

Hebrews 13:6 So We Say With Confidence, "The Lord Is My Helper; I Will Not Be Afraid. What Can Man Do To Me?"

We are to take on an attitude of invincibility. Of course we are vulnerable. We are all subject to death. We are subject to persecution…even the persecution of Satan from his inflicting pain upon us. Even in our worst hour, we must never forget we are not alone. No matter how much we hurt, we never hurt by ourselves. We are never alone in our pain because Christ is with us each moment. When we fear, we must tell ourselves, we need not fear for God is our defender. When we look at the spiritual realities of our life, we can see over the span of our eternity, the eternal protective power of God. We may suffer now, but later on, there shall be no suffering for eternity.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep Your Lives Free From The Love Of Money And Be Content With What You Have, Because God Has Said, "Never Will I Leave You; Never Will I Forsake You."

Our pain makes us reach out for things to find relief. Many things may appear to appease our need for relief. Material things are tangible. We can touch material things and feel the material thing in our hand. Because material things are tangible, and our need for relief is so demanding, we might believe material things bring us the relief we need. However, many times, material things can bring us grief instead of relief. Money can buy medication, counseling, expert advice, medical supplies, and many forms of help. However, what about the hurt in our heart, mind, and soul? We can numb our body, and even numb our mind with drugs. But what happens to us when we wake up from our drug-induced slumber? We must do all we can to count our blessings even in our poverty. We must make and maintain contact with Christ who is with us at all times, in all places, in all conditions. We are never alone. We are never forsaken.

Luke 18:8 I Tell You, He Will See That They Get Justice, And Quickly. However, When The Son Of Man Comes, Will He Find Faith On The Earth?"

We want a makeup. We want God to make up for all the pain we suffer. The greatest injustice is suffering put upon those who do not deserve the suffering. There are those people who suffer who will never see any justice in this life. Many times, the unfaithful and even the faithful look upon suffering and abandon the faith because justice has not come and will not come in this life. At the end, Jesus will not find faith or faithfulness on the earth. Jesus will not find faithfulness because so many people demand a payoff or compensation for their suffering. We must learn to live in spite of our suffering. We must understand Satan is the author of pain and death. We must learn we can spit in the eye of Satan in the injustice of pain by praying, loving, forgiving, and putting Christ first in faith…then Jesus will find faith on earth.

Jeremiah 32:17 "Ah, Sovereign Lord, You Have Made The Heavens And The Earth By Your Great Power And Outstretched Arm. Nothing Is Too Hard For You."

What is not possible for God? What can God not do? If God has the power to create all things, what is hard for God to do? We put limitations on God. We put so many limitations on God, it seems like we do not have real faith in Him. Wait a minute! We, in fact, do not have nearly enough faith in God. Our reality is so besieged with evil, events driven by evil, temptations authored by evil, and death and destruction caused by evil, we think God has limits. The obvious question would be why doesn't God stop the evil causing so many problems? The answer, in part, is that God needs to let us fulfill our destiny He set in motion before we were created.

Psalm 27:9 Do Not Hide Your Face From Me, Do Not Turn Your Servant Away In Anger; You Have Been My Helper. Do Not Reject Me Or Forsake Me, O God My Savior.

We often feel like the Psalmist. We so often feel God has hidden Himself from us. We often feel God may be real but God does not want anything to do with us. Our trials, hurts, pains, and many tribulations can make us feel forsaken. Even when we make our mistakes causing us to hurt, if we do not own up to our mistakes, we can end up thinking God does not love us and He has forsaken us. The fact is God DOES love us. God will never forsake us, even when we forsake Him. God made it possible for Christ to come into the world as our Savior and Lord. Christ came into the world and because of Him we know He is not hiding from us. God was, is, and will forever be our helper and our guide. He will not reject us. He will not forsake us.

Isaiah 51:9 Awake, Awake! Clothe Yourself With Strength, O Arm Of The Lord; Awake, As In Days Gone By, As In Generations Of Old.

In our pain, we can sometimes think God is sleeping. God is not sleeping. God is always awake, always watching over us, always directing His angels to help us within His will for our life. As much as we can proclaim we know the will of God, we do not completely know His total will for us. So, not knowing, we stumble and fall, we turn in directions we should not, and we end up questioning God's purposes for us. However, no matter how many mistakes we make, or how much pain we must endure, we can all stand in the certainty we are loved by God. We can all be absolutely certain God has loved us in days gone by, in the present hour, and in His fantastic eternity yet to unfold. Although we may be weak in the moment, we are empowered for all the tomorrows yet to be because He loves us so.

2 Cor. 1:10 He Has Delivered Us From Such A Deadly Peril, And He Will Deliver Us. On Him We Have Set Our Hope That He Will Continue To Deliver Us,

We face many afflictions. We face pain in the here and now. There will come a time when we face the last peril, death itself. However, we must not be deterred or ever think we will be defeated. We must know full well we have the victory in Christ forever. Christ is our deliverer. From the very jaws of death we shall be pulled up, and up, and up to heaven. In the face of death, Christ will bring us life eternal. Christ has been with us in the past. He will continue to be with us in the future. We may feel we are orphans left alone in the world. However, we are not alone, for Christ is with us to guide us and take us to be where He lives.

Psalm 22:19 But You, O Lord, Be Not Far Off; O My Strength, Come Quickly To Help Me.

We walk with God each moment. We often think He is far away. We often think He is far away not because of Him, but because of us. We go our own way, especially when we are besieged and overcome with our pain. Pain makes us forget God is with us. Pain makes us weak. However, we have no excuse. We are without excuse and we must never excuse our behavior because of our pain. In our weakness, without making excuses, we need help to move through each day. Christ is our strength. Christ is our helper. When we call upon Him in our hour of need, He will come quickly to help us. He will come quickly to help us because He is already living within us, night and day, day and night, all the days of our life.

Psalm 138:3 When I Called, You Answered Me; You Made Me Bold And Stouthearted.

We don't feel so bold in our pain. We don't feel so stouthearted when our pain eats away at the very core of who we are. Those very times when we are not bold or stouthearted are the very times we must call upon the Lord. When we call upon the Lord then He will answer us in our need. The Lord will give us strength every hour if we are willing to accept His power in our life. We can meet our adversities head on, without hesitation. We are able to ascend from the depths of our despair because our precious Lord Jesus always reaches down to pull us up. We shall always be able to find our courage when are afraid because Christ is with us, supplying all we need as we seek to do His will.

Romans 4:5 However, To The Man Who Does Not Work But Trusts God Who Justifies The Wicked, His Faith Is Credited As Righteousness.

This verse can be misused and misconstrued. This verse IS misused and misconstrued. The verse would appear to say we do not have to work and all we need is faith. However, the truth of the whole gospel record clearly demonstrates sloth to be a "deadly" sin. In our pain, we are tempted to not exert full effort. In our pain, we are tempted to let our faith slide and let our faith slide backwards. Even in our pain, we must exert maximum effort without any concern whatsoever about what we get back from God in exchange for our faithfulness. Our faith is credited as righteousness, but in our faith we would never slack off. In our faith, even in pain, we must be relentless and push ahead at all times.

Isaiah 45:21 And There Is No God Apart From Me, A Righteous God And A Savior; There Is None But Me.

Our judgment is often cloudy. We make mistakes nearly every day. In pain, our memory and judgment are challenged. We are, especially those of us who hurt, left as orphans in a cold and brutal world. However, we are not alone. We have a resource to see us through every trouble. We have a resource who gives us infinite eternal life in beauty and love mere words cannot express. In a world gone wrong, making our pain even worse, we have a perfect person making all things right. His name is Jesus.

2 Cor. 5:19 That God Was Reconciling The World To Himself In Christ, Not Counting Men's Sins Against Them. And He Has Committed To Us The Message Of Reconciliation.

Our pain makes us live apart from others and apart from Christ. Pain makes us like orphans without a parent or guardian to take care of us. In pain, we are looking for someone to help us. Our pain makes us say and do what we might know are wrong. Before God, we are apart from Him whether we are in pain or not. Christ came into the world to bring us to a place where we are no longer lost in our pain and no longer lost in our life. Christ came to bridge the divide between us and God…the great divide caused by our sin. When we were apart from God, Christ came to reconcile us with God. Christ came to cleanse our impurity of sin so we are clean and righteous. When we are together with Christ, even in our pain, we have Christ who is the great Comforter who brings us comfort and peace even in our pain.

Isaiah 53:5 But He Was Pierced For Our Transgressions, He Was Crushed For Our Iniquities; The Punishment That Brought Us Peace Was Upon Him, And By His Wounds We Are Healed.

In our pain, what difference does it make if Christ was tortured and crucified? Here is the answer: Christ permitted Himself to be crucified and He rose again on the third day to give us hope our pain will end. Of course, we have to do something here on earth in our life at the present time to assure ourselves we will see heaven. On earth, in the here and now, we must repent of our sins and accept Christ as our savior. Because Christ lived and died for us, we can look forward with hope and anticipation toward a life of eternal bliss with no more pain. Imagine no more pain, no more discomfort, and no more uneasiness!!! Wow!!! All of eternity and the infinite wonders therein are available to us because of Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:33 Who Will Bring Any Charge Against Those Whom God Has Chosen? It Is God Who Justifies.

The world can bring charges against those whom God has chosen. Satan and satanic evil in the world can and do persecute those whom God has chosen. However, in the heavens and in our heavenly home, there are no charges and no persecutions against those of us who have called Jesus our Lord. In our pain we must remember we have a Great Defender who will, in the span of eternity, tower over us, protect us, and immerse us in His love and grace. God brings all evil to an end. God rewards us for our perseverance in our trials and in our defeats. We are appalled by the injustices of this life. We are appalled by the inhumanity of human beings against one another. The injustices of this life are smoothed out and made as if the injustices never were by God Almighty.

Isaiah 42:21 It Pleased The Lord For The Sake Of His Righteousness To Make His Law Great And Glorious.

In pain, in a world of chaos, we are hard pressed to find anything great and glorious in the world. In pain, what would be great and glorious is to find a form of final, total relief from our pain. Although we may find limited relief for our pain while we are alive in the here and now, we will indeed find our final, total relief when we see Christ in heaven. The law of God has within the law the greatness and grandeur of God. The law of God gives us the keys to eternal bliss in Heaven. The law of God details for us how we are to maneuver over and around the satanic obstacles and mine fields ahead of us. Most of all, the law of God is designed and presented to us to help us live a righteous life.

Psalm 85:10 Love And Faithfulness Meet Together; Righteousness And Peace Kiss Each Other.

In pain, we find it difficult to feel love. Our need for relief becomes greater than our need for love. The author of pain wants us to be without love. In this instance, we must use our will power to subdue what the pain wants from us. When we can push the pain aside for a few moments, the love we feel for God and from God, will increase our faithfulness. When our faithfulness is increased, we can lead a more righteous life and peace comes to us. When we are at peace, God can do great work within us. In peace, we can further subdue our pain. In peace, we can gain control over our life when the author of pain wants us to give up control.

Hebrews 11:16 Instead, They Were Longing For A Better Country--A Heavenly One. Therefore God Is Not Ashamed To Be Called Their God, For He Has Prepared A City For Them.

When we are in pain we long for better times. Quite often, we can long to return to a better time we enjoyed in the past. Like those people in the verse above, we long for a heavenly city. Our longing for a heavenly city is exceeded only by the city God has prepared for us. We cannot imagine the beauty and wonder of what God has made for us. The human mind might try to grasp the magnitude of God and God's heaven, but we cannot grasp His reality in full measure. The Lord has prepared a city just for us. He knows what we go through each moment. God knows the depth of our pain. In His new city, soon to be our new city, we shall never hurt again.

1 Thes. 4:17 …And So We Will Be With The Lord Forever. 18 Therefore Encourage Each Other With These Words.

Forever is a long time. In heaven, forever will not seem like forever because we will have no sense of time. Forever in heaven is free of pain. We think we know what forever means, but we do not know what forever means in terms of our experience on earth. On earth, our pain can seem to go on forever, but the "forever" of pain is the opposite of the "forever" of Christ in heaven. The joy, peace, and happiness of heaven will never stop or fade away. On earth, we sometimes measure "how long" using a form of our pain as our gauge. On earth, we use clocks, calendars, watches, and various other time keeping devices to measure our time. In heaven, there is no need to measure time.

Acts 1:11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

How can we not ask, "But when? When will Jesus come back from His going into heaven?" In our pain, we want our answers. We want our answers because our pain robs us of meaning and purpose in our life. We must affirm each day we are living on earth in order to see Christ in the future, whether the future is one second from now or when we see Him in heaven. We are assured; Jesus will come back from heaven in the same way Jesus went into heaven. In our pain, we have hope. Pain without hope is a form of death. Pain with hope means we can live and breathe waiting in hope for another moment full of anticipation we will see Him.

1 Peter 1:4 And Into An Inheritance That Can Never Perish, Spoil Or Fade--Kept In Heaven For You,

On earth, we must have shelter. On earth, we must protect ourselves and our belongings. On earth, what we own is very temporary, for on earth, things perish, spoil, or fade. However, we are not on earth for very long. In our home in heaven, our Lord Jesus keeps for us our heavenly treasures. In heaven, we have no fear of losing persons or belongings. In heaven, our Lord has kept for us the very best of His blessings and His treasures. Someday, we shall inherit all of what Christ has prepared for us. We shall inherit His wonders, His blessings, and His love in full measure. Let us prepare our heart, mind, and soul this moment for the glory that is to come.

Hebrews 10:37 For In Just A Very Little While, "He Who Is Coming Will Come And Will Not Delay."

What you may be thinking is, "Why hasn't Christ come back already? How long do we have to wait?" These are legitimate questions. In our pain we grow impatient. We want results now, not next week or next year. We must try and look at this verse from the perspective of God. God has no clock or watch. God does not work on our time schedule. What we must remember when we read this verse in our pain is how we are to stay patient and stay full of hope. We must remember we will see Christ when He comes to earth again or we will see Him face to face when we go to heaven. The end result of our faith is always seeing Christ in heaven. Whether it takes Christ two more days or two million years to come to the earth once again, we will not care when we see Him in heaven. We will not be in pain any more. We will be full of joy to overflowing. These wonderful things will happen for us because Christ loves us beyond our ability to know.

Hebrews 13:14 For Here We Do Not Have An Enduring City, But We Are Looking For The City That Is To Come.

All things in this life in this reality either change or seem to disappear. Copper ore from a copper mine changes so much from the time the ore comes out of the mine or ground, one would think the original ore had completely disappeared. On the earth, we do not have what truly endures but we have hope. Some of us have more than hope in our heart for we have a faith so strong we can see a city on a hill…a city lasting forever. Our city on a hill is our home in the future. In our world where things change almost daily, we have what is totally and forever permanent. Our city on a hill has a special place prepared for us by Jesus Himself. In our city on a hill we shall not feel pain, sadness, grief, or mourning. We shall be free. Once and for all, we shall be free forever.

John 14:3 And If I Go And Prepare A Place For You, I Will Come Back And Take You To Be With Me That You Also May Be Where I Am.

When we are in pain we need hope for relief. When we are in pain we need to possess a vision of the future where our pain will be no more. Jesus knows you hurt. Jesus knows the pain of every person on earth. So, what will He do? Will He just sit up there and look down and feel bad for us? Is this all Jesus is willing to do? No, this is not all Jesus is willing to do. Jesus will do for us what He said He will do. He will come again and take you to a place where He is, with no pain whatsoever, for all time. Jesus is our hope for eternal relief from our pain. Jesus is our hope for living in a place where He lives where pain shall never afflict us ever again. This moment, we must wait. We must be patient. However, in our waiting, we can look up to Jesus who gives all hope beyond hope.

Romans 7:22 For In My Inner Being I Delight In God's Law

What causes us delight in our soul? Do we delight in things of the darkness or do we delight in things of the Light? When we delight in God's law, we delight in all the ways and rules God used to make and keep our reality intact. God's law is about the formations and life forms of the earth. God's law is about the beauty of His creation. God's law is about what we are to do and how we are to live a full and grand life before God. Delight in God's law shows in how we live and what we produce from within our soul. Do we produce the things of God or do we produce the things of darkness? When we delight in God's law our life begins to shine like the Light of God.

Romans 13:10 Love Does No Harm To Its Neighbor. Therefore Love Is The Fulfillment Of The Law.

We wage war. Our waging war causes pain and suffering. We even know waging war causes pain and suffering. Even in our personal pain, we wage war against those around us without shame or guilt. Waging war must stop or there will come a time when human beings will no longer inhabit the earth. Waging war against those around us must stop. Waging war is not love. Waging war on every level comes into being because satanic evil is upon the earth. We stop war on every level through love. We stop war in our personal lives by replacing our anger, hate, and frustration with love. To activate love in our life we must pray continually and without ceasing. We must pray for the Lord Jesus to come into our heart and life. We must repent of our every sin. We must cast every part of our being at the foot Christ's cross. Then the really hard work begins. The really hard work begins when we live out the gospel minute by minute.

1 John 3:23 And This Is His Command: To Believe In The Name Of His Son, Jesus Christ, And To Love One Another As He Commanded Us.

There are two commands here. One command is to believe in Christ including believing in the power of Christ to do all things inasmuch as all things are possible with God. The second command is to love one another. We are to accept Christ died for us. We are to love others in full and unconditional ways. None of this is easy if you are in pain. When you are in pain, you are looking for relief of some kind from someone. If the pain is bad enough, you don't care who the pain relieving person is, just so you get your relief. When we are in pain, we can end up believing and thinking in ways just opposite of what Christ wants from us and for us. When we are in pain we must be aware of what the pain is doing against us and we must push against the pain pushing against us. The best way we can push against the pain pushing against us is to look up to God. In God, we find the power to do and be who God wants us to be. In God, we find the power to push against pain and afflictions of every kind. In God, we find we have hope beyond all hope for a life in eternity where infinite peace and infinite love abound.

Psalm 119:165 Great Peace Have They Who Love Your Law, And Nothing Can Make Them Stumble.

Pain can make you doubt. Pain can even make you totally disbelieve in God or in God’s power. So what are we to do when we do not believe because of our pain or because of our afflictions? What we are to do is to use our mind to see the beautiful logic of our God. God’s logic transcends human logic. When we love God and His words, our love for Him and His wisdom really and truly does bring us peace. When we use the logic and wisdom of God, we are prevented from making the kinds of killing mistakes so many people too often make. When we do not love the law of God, we do not have His peace in our heart and mind. When we do not love the logic, wisdom, and power of God’s wisdom, we will not have peace in our heart.

1 John 3:22 And Receive From Him Anything We Ask, Because We Obey His Commands And Do What Pleases Him.

This verse stretches our faith, especially when we are in pain. Our faith is challenged in pain. We will, we absolutely, positively will receive anything we ask. The big question for us is "Can we wait?" In heaven, we will be inundated with MORE then we ask. However, before we get to heaven we must be patient while we are alive on the earth. Our faith transcends what we think is reality. Our faith transcends time and space. Our faith carries us over every mountain and obstacle in this life. Our faith makes all things possible, even making possible the power to receive from Christ anything we ask. However, we must be patient and persevering. We must soldier on minute by minute, hour by hour. We must come against drudgery, pain, suffering, and faith-killing influences from every side. When we persevere we will win out in our most incredible victory of life.

Proverbs 3:13 Blessed Is The Man Who Finds Wisdom, The Man Who Gains Understanding,

The tragedy of our life is not our pain. The greatest tragedy of any life is when someone does not learn, grow, and develop. Truly, a person really is blessed who finds wisdom and gains understanding. Our pain makes us less aware of much in our environment except our pain. Pain is a horrible distraction. When we are in great afflictions, we could not care much about wisdom and understanding. Not caring about growing is what Satan wants for you. Christ wants just the opposite. Wisdom is the engine giving us power to handle the world about us. Those without wisdom do not handle the world…the world handles them. When we have understanding, we have strategic advantages over the chaos trying to destroy us and destroy our world.

Matthew 11:30 For My Yoke Is Easy And My Burden Is Light.

In our pain, we do not think any yoke is easy nor any burden light. In our pain, we unfortunately and incorrectly think our pain, our burdens, and our imprisonment is from Christ. The Truth: Our pain is from Satan. Our burdens are from Satan. Our imprisonment is from Satan. Every bit of pain, suffering, and darkness in our life is from Satan, NOT from Christ. Yes, Christ does call us to carry His burden but His burden is not like the burden of our personal sin and darkness. The burden of Christ empowers us. The burden of Christ gives us a view of the reality of our beautiful eternity. The yoke of Christ does not imprison us. The yoke of Christ liberates us. The yoke and burden of Christ gives us comfort and rest even in the middle of our pain.

John 14:21 Whoever Has My Commands And Obeys Them, He Is The One Who Loves Me. He Who Loves Me Will Be Loved By My Father, And I Too Will Love Him And Show Myself To Him."

Real love for Christ is often hard to find. We want to go our own way, not Christ's way. We want to go our own way for many reasons. We want to go our own way because our pain breaks us down. Our pain makes us do what we know we should not do. Our pain makes us disobedient to Christ's will for us. However, if we are obedient and keep Christ's commands we will see Him. In our pain, we must be both patient and obedient. We must be patient and obedient for Christ has entrusted us with the sacred trust of His love and the trust of His promise. We might be swallowed up in the darkness and pain of the world against our will for a time. However, if we keep Christ's commands and we obey Him, we shall see Him as He is…a being of incredible light, a being of beauty we are not worthy to behold, a being with us now and forever giving us His love and grace.

John 6:40 For My Father's Will Is That Everyone Who Looks To The Son And Believes In Him Shall Have Eternal Life, And I Will Raise Him Up At The Last Day."

The satanic evil causing our pain wants to blind us. Sometimes our pain does indeed blind us. However, in the scheme of all things, God has preserved within us a pair of spiritual eyes. In our pain, the will of God the Father is for us to look to Him with our spiritual eyes. When we look to Him with our spiritual eyes with our heart full of faith He shall give us eternal life. Our pain cannot diminish our hope. Our eternal life contains no more suffering. On the very last day, in the very last moment, we shall not be disappointed. For on the very last day, in the very last moment, we shall be raised up to see the majesty and glory of Christ Jesus standing in our eternal home.

1 John 5:3 This Is Love For God: To Obey His Commands. And His Commands Are Not Burdensome,

Our pain is a burden. However, we have more than just our burden upon us. We have the power of the living God upon us. The power of the living God gives us strength and endurance not found in things or ideas of the world. The power of the living God enables us to carry our burden in a way to glorify God in every aspect of our life. God's commands do not command us to draw attention to ourselves or our plight. God's commands are grounded in love and humility. Becoming the love and humility Christ wants us to become, although difficult on the surface, are easy when we put our heart and soul into being His child. When our own temptations cry out for us to behave in mistaken ways, Christ commands us, even in our pain and suffering, to carry His cross no matter what we might be suffering at the moment.

Hebrews 13:14 For Here We Do Not Have An Enduring City, But We Are Looking For The City That Is To Come.

All things are temporary. Even our pain is temporary. All things change. We change. At some point in the future, we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye into a being suitable to taken to heaven. There will come a time when the temporary body we have now will be changed to a body lasting forever. On this earth in our present reality, we search for what is enduring. We search for comfort. We search for an end to our pain. Christ has for us, this very moment, an enduring city or place where our pain shall be no more. Because Christ loves us, He has built for us an enduring city where joy in an eternal morning shall replace all our tears.

1 Peter 4:14 If You Are Insulted Because Of The Name Of Christ, You Are Blessed, For The Spirit Of Glory And Of God Rests On You.

We hurt. The question we must always face is what do we do as a result of the hurt? Do we permit ourselves to be turned and twisted toward evil because we hurt? Do we permit ourselves to be so influenced by the evil of pain we let the pain take away our ability to choose? Do we let the pain take away our humanity? The obvious answer must be "no" to these questions. Instead of being turned and twisted by the evil of pain, we must fight back against the evil so, at a minimum, we are insulted because we call Christ our Lord and Savior. We must fight back against the evil of pain so someday soon we will be forever immersed in the glory of God in real time where time does not exist. Even in our pain, we are blessed now and forever by having accepted Christ as Lord.

1 Peter 4:14 If You Are Insulted Because Of The Name Of Christ, You Are Blessed, For The Spirit Of Glory And Of God Rests On You.

We hurt. The question we must always face is what do we do as a result of the hurt? Do we permit ourselves to be turned and twisted toward evil because we hurt? Do we permit ourselves to be so influenced by the evil of pain we let the pain take away our ability to choose? Do we let the pain take away our humanity? The obvious answer must be "no" to these questions. Instead of being turned and twisted by the evil of pain, we must fight back against the evil so, at a minimum, we are insulted because we call Christ our Lord and Savior. We must fight back against the evil of pain so someday soon we will be forever immersed in the glory of God in real time where time does not exist. Even in our pain, we are blessed now and forever by having accepted Christ as Lord.

Hebrews 11:25 He Chose To Be Mistreated Along With The People Of God Rather Than To Enjoy The Pleasures Of Sin For A Short Time. 26 He Regarded Disgrace For The Sake Of Christ As Of Greater Value Than The Treasures Of Egypt, Because He Was Looking Ahead To His Reward.

In our pain and trials, we must look ahead to our time of glory in heaven. In our pain, we must assign our every motivation toward the will of God. We suffer many pains because we have chosen the way of Christ. We must not take an easy way or an easy out. Instead of taking an easy out, we must persist in doing the hard work of Christ. When we walk the narrow road of Christ, we will be mistreated. On the narrow road, we will suffer for our commitment to always follow Him. We will be tempted but not beyond our ability to resist and remain holy and godly in His sight. We are better when we are disgraced for Christ than when the world accepts us and loves us because we are living a life of sinfulness.

1 Peter 4:12 Dear Friends, Do Not Be Surprised At The Painful Trial You Are Suffering, As Though Something Strange Were Happening To You. But Rejoice That You Participate In The Sufferings Of Christ, So That You May Be Overjoyed When His Glory Is Revealed.

How do we rejoice when we are in pain? We rejoice not because of where we are now. We rejoice because of where we are going in the future. Our present may afflict us in many ways. We may die in our present time and life as a result of Satan's attacks but even if we die, we shall overcome all things. We must tell the truth. Because of Christ Jesus, because we have turned away from our present darkness of sin, because we have accepted Christ into our innermost being, we are invincible. Sure, we hurt today, and we may hurt tomorrow. However, we shall see a day of great rejoicing where all the souls of heaven sing in His glory for all time. Christ suffered. We suffered. When we take on His sufferings for His cause and because He called us to be His children, His glory becomes our immediate and eternal reality.

Acts 5:41 The Apostles Left The Sanhedrin, Rejoicing Because They Had Been Counted Worthy Of Suffering Disgrace For The Name.

Most of the time, we feel pain because something has gone wrong in our physical body or within our emotional heart. Pain is considered an alarm bell telling us to take notice or take action. However, when we suffer with a purpose, for a purpose, the sting of the hurt may still afflict us but assigning our suffering a purpose gives us an added power we do not normally have. The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they were disgraced for a wonderful purpose...the cause of Christ Jesus. Satan afflicts every person. Every person will suffer a last fatal attack by Satan. Yet, if we have committed our life to Christ, we will be able to take the tempter's arrows with a spirit of rejoicing not possible with Christ being in our heart and life.

2 Cor. 1:7 And Our Hope For You Is Firm, Because We Know That Just As You Share In Our Sufferings, So Also You Share In Our Comfort.

We can find it difficult to share in the suffering of others when we are suffering ourselves. We can find it difficult to show compassion or feel compassion for others if we are hurting too. However, we must go beyond our present hurt and suffering to a place in our mind and heart where we both understand and accept into ourselves the hurt of others. To only feel our own pain is small. To reach out in compassion and love, even when we hurt, is big. What this verse calls us to do is to go beyond ourselves in our thoughts and feelings for others. We move closer to heaven when we place ourselves along side the pain of others. When we come to fully understand the hurt of others, we also can begin to understand the sufferings of Christ on the cross for us.

Col. 3:3 For Ye Are Dead, And Your Life Is Hid With Christ In God.

When we suffer in our pain, we have little real life in us. Suffering drives the life we should have out of us. Pain and suffering from our sin also drives the life out of us. Our new life in Christ is in hiding within His heart until we go to Him on the cross. At the foot of the cross, you can find a new life if you throw away your old life of sin. If you turn away from your old life of sin, your new life in Christ comes out of hiding within His heart. With your new life now out of hiding from within His heart, Christ gives to you a new life lasting forever. Christ does not want us dead in our sins. Christ wants us alive, and without pain forever.

Isaiah 26:20 Come, My People, Enter Thou Into Thy Chambers, And Shut Thy Doors About Thee: Hide Thyself As It Were For A Little Moment, Until The Indignation Be Overpast. 21 For, Behold, The Lord Cometh Out Of His Place To Punish The Inhabitants Of The Earth For Their Iniquity: The Earth Also Shall Disclose Her Blood, And Shall No More Cover Her Slain.

As much as we might want, our pain and suffering are no excuse for unrighteousness. We will not be excused from standing before God. Our pain and suffering do not give us a pass from giving God an account of our life. We have no excuse for our sin and degradation. We will all be called to account before God for our behavior. At this hour, God is not happy about the behavior of people upon the earth. When God is not happy, there are consequences. God will "punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain."

Psalm 46:1 God Is Our Refuge And Strength, A Very Present Help In Trouble. 2 Therefore Will Not We Fear, Though The Earth Be Removed, And Though The Mountains Be Carried Into The Midst Of The Sea; 3 Though The Waters Thereof Roar And Be Troubled, Though The Mountains Shake With The Swelling Thereof.

In our pain we may think we never have a refuge because the pain can seem to never stop. For some of us, the pain really does never stop. However, over the span of our little time here on earth, we can have refuge in Christ Jesus. Even now, here on earth, we have Christ who we can count on to be with us. Naturally, we want Him to take away our pain. We want Jesus to take away our tribulations. Of course, we know Jesus does not always take away our pain and tribulations here on earth. We do not always know why Jesus does not answer our pleas and petitions when we think we need them answered. No matter what Jesus does or does not do for us in our earthly life, we know He loves us and He has prepared a place for us in heaven where pain no longer exists. Because we know Christ is our ultimate strength and refuge, we have no reason to fear.

John 16:33 These Things I Have Spoken Unto You, That In Me Ye Might Have Peace. In The World Ye Shall Have Tribulation: But Be Of Good Cheer; I Have Overcome The World.

Yes, we have tribulation. We have the tribulation of our pain, from whatever source. However, we have Jesus who came into the world to take us to a place where pain and suffering are no more. We have a Master who has overcome the pain and suffering we feel. We have a Master who destroyed for all time the grip of sin and pain if we accept Him into our life. Certainly, our pain will continue but only for a little while. So even in our pain, we can be of good cheer for the dawn of our new day is almost here. We must not forget we have an eternity waiting. Because we hurt, we do not see the Master's hand reaching down to pick us up to a new place of unlimited joy and peace. However, even when we do not see Him, He is still there reaching down, still loving us, still calling us home.

Psalm 112:7 He Shall Not Be Afraid Of Evil Tidings: His Heart Is Fixed, Trusting In The Lord.

Let's tell the truth. When we hurt a lot or hurt all the time we do become afraid of the bad things to come. We do become afraid of evil tidings. Over time, people who have hurt a lot can develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. However, even if you have PTSD, you can have peace…the peace beyond all understanding. We find peace beyond all understanding when we fix our heart upon Christ. We find peace when we put our trust in Him. With Christ, we have a loving savior who shall solve our every problem, bind our every wound, heal our every infirmity, and take away our every hurt. In Christ, we have no reason to fear the future because He has prepared a place for us full of love, peace, glory, and joy unspeakable. In every pain, we must lift up our broken life to Him. When we struggle to even begin to lift anything at all, Christ sees our struggle and loves us all the more for what we are trying to do in His name and for His glory.

Psalm 57:1 Be Merciful Unto Me, O God, Be Merciful Unto Me: For My Soul Trusteth In Thee: Yea, In The Shadow Of Thy Wings Will I Make My Refuge, Until These Calamities Be Overpast.

In a world impacted by pain, we are too often distrustful because where do we go to find an end to our pain? In God we can always trust, because He will never fail us, hurt us, or make our life more difficult. Christ Jesus is our refuge. In Christ hanging from the cross, we have someone who will take care of us in our hour of need. Look at the terrible irony. Look at the terrible irony of our seeking relief from our pain as Christ suffers the worst pain of all upon the cross. Yet Christ is merciful from His cross. From His cross our Lord pleaded with the Father to forgive those who were crucifying Him. In pain, we are to reach out and reach up to God. In pain, we plead for His mercy.

Matthew 24:6 And Ye Shall Hear Of Wars And Rumours Of Wars: See That Ye Be Not Troubled: For All These Things Must Come To Pass, But The End Is Not Yet.

We live in troubling times. Unemployment, financial chaos, war, natural disasters, crime, international troubles, stock market gyrations, on and on the list could go. When we live in pain we live in our own troubled time. Yet, we must affirm the end of all things is not yet upon us. We must affirm our own end shall not be an end, but a glorious new beginning going on forever. In troubling times, we must draw close to Jesus. We must call upon Him to let us know in ever-increasing ways how He is always with us whether we are in pain or not in pain. At any age, no matter our condition, we serve a mighty God who loves us and cares about us in ways we cannot always know. Even in pain we must trust Him, believe in Him, and call upon Him in our time of trouble knowing full well He will never desert us or leave us.

Romans 8:23 Not Only So, But We Ourselves, Who Have The Firstfruits Of The Spirit, Groan Inwardly As We Wait Eagerly For Our Adoption As Sons, The Redemption Of Our Bodies.

Our bodies are not redeemed in this life. Our bodies on earth are continually attacked and caught up in the temptations Satan puts upon us. Yet we do wait eagerly, even more so because of our pain, for the time when our bodies are changed when we go up to be with Christ in heaven. Our life takes on meaning and purpose because we have the great hope of Christ. What a tragedy is the life of those persons who have no hope, who have no vision of the future, whose future is full of nothing but the outer darkness full of Satan's torment! For those of us whose hope is in Christ, we know we have a future of glory divine. We know Christ will welcome us into our heavenly home full of the immensity of His love. Knowing all this, we can wait patiently even in our pain. We can wait patiently for we know He loves us more than we can express.

2 Cor. 2:11 In Order That Satan Might Not Outwit Us. For We Are Not Unaware Of His Schemes.

Our awareness in pain tends to drop off. In pain, we must heighten our awareness so the pain does not grind us down. The satanic power causing our pain must be met with increased awareness. One of the therapeutic techniques of meditation is to heighten one's awareness of the pain so the pain can be managed and pushed around, lessening the pain's impact. When we pray, we must try to heighten our awareness of Christ in our presence. In heightening our awareness, we are to step back from the influences Satan is trying to put upon us. The more aware we become, the more power God grants us to counterattack Satan and his evil schemes against us.

Matthew 4:10 Jesus Said To Him, "Away From Me, Satan! For It Is Written: 'Worship The Lord Your God, And Serve Him Only.'" 11 Then The Devil Left Him, And Angels Came And Attended Him.

Each of us must take a stand against Satan. We must never give up our war against Satan. We must do all we can to drive satanic evil out of our lives. We are not perfect. We will lose battles in this war. However, we may lose battles but the ultimate outcome of this war against Satan has already been determined. If we maintain our war against Satan, then Satan looses and Christ wins. When we permit Christ to win in us and through us, we win. When we wage war against Satan, the angels of God surround us and lift us up. Eventually, as we battle onward, the angels of God will lift us up to heaven one last and glorious time. No pain must ever deter us. No pain must ever divert us from doing the Lord's work.

Ephes. 5:11 Have Nothing To Do With The Fruitless Deeds Of Darkness, But Rather Expose Them.

We are not to constantly whine and complain in the pain of our suffering. Instead, we are to expose the deeds of darkness or what the pain is doing to us emotionally and spiritually. When we expose what the pain is doing to us, we loosen the grip the pain has upon us. By pain, we mean not just physical pain, but emotional and spiritual pain. We all realize on some level, the pain attacking us is of no benefit except the satanic evil behind our pain. The attack by Satan upon us in the form of pain is meant to destroy us. We are to turn our backs upon Satan, have nothing to do with him or the darkness Satan wants to put upon us.

1 Peter 5:8 Be Self-Controlled And Alert. Your Enemy The Devil Prowls Around Like A Roaring Lion Looking For Someone To Devour. 9 Resist Him, Standing Firm In The Faith, Because You Know That Your Brothers Throughout The World Are Undergoing The Same Kind Of Sufferings.

Satan puts suffering upon you to break you down. Once Satan has broken you, you are Satan's to do with as he pleases. As terrible as these words sound, the truth is obvious. Satan wants slavery. Satan wants you in some form of chains to be bound up by him. We must resist the wiles of Satan. We must resist being broken down by pain and suffering. No matter how much we suffer, Christ will give us power to resist. Eventually, we shall overcome as we live in glory with Christ. We are not the only ones to suffer. Millions, perhaps even billions of people, are suffering much the same way we are suffering. We must resist and fight back against the power of darkness wanting us to give up and give in. To resist and be victorious in this life, we must be self-controlled. Satan does not want us to be self-controlled because if we lose our self-control, then Satan has us in his grasp. When we have self-control, we are able to control our responses to our pain thus permitting Christ to speak to us, even in the depths of our darkness.

Ephes. 6:10 Finally, Be Strong In The Lord And In His Mighty Power. 11 Put On The Full Armor Of God So That You Can Take Your Stand Against The Devil's Schemes.

We are weak. When we are in pain we are even weaker. Satan does not want us being strong because we then have the power to resist Him or stand against Him. We need the full armor of God so we can do battle against Satan and his evil influence in our life. We need the Lord's mighty power. All the time we are weak and helpless, the Lord God, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit are in us, around us, over us, and under us. Sure, we are often blindsided by evil and by the pain evil puts on us. However, we must continually wage war against the powers of this world, namely Satan. We must never just let evil have its way with us. We must never try to be a pacifist with evil. We must be ready to attack evil by praying, fasting, and meditating upon the mighty love of God.

James 4:7 Submit Yourselves, Then, To God. Resist The Devil, And He Will Flee From You.

Resistance can take many forms. We can resist by being passive. We can resist by being active. Going to war can be resistance. No matter how we resist, Satan will not be happy. We do know with certainty, when we resist Satan then he will flee from us. Does this mean we will not be in pain when Satan leaves us alone? No, you may still be in pain but over time, when our time on earth runs out and heaven is our home, we shall celebrate our victory over Satan. Most importantly, if we submit ourselves to God now, then God will give us additional power to help us deal with our pain. God will give us additional armor to protect us from the slings and arrows shot at us by the Evil One.

Zeph. 3:17 The Lord Your God Is With You, He Is Mighty To Save. He Will Take Great Delight In You, He Will Quiet You With His Love, He Will Rejoice Over You With Singing."

In pain we are alone. In pain we seem to have no one with us. However, the real truth is this…Christ really is with us in every moment of our pain and in all the moments when we are not in pain. In pain we need and we do have a mighty God. We need and we do have a mighty God who will pull us away from our pain and take us to a wonderful place called heaven. Of course, we have to wait on God to determine when He wants us up there with Him. When we live as God wants us to live, He really does take great delight in us. When we live as Christ wants us to live, He will rejoice over us with singing. Even in your pain, these great moments can happen to us if we are Christ's child.

Hebrews 1:2-3 But In These Last Days He Has Spoken To Us By His Son, Whom He Appointed Heir Of All Things, And Through Whom He Made The Universe. 3 The Son Is The Radiance Of God's Glory And The Exact Representation Of His Being, Sustaining All Things By His Powerful Word. After He Had Provided Purification For Sins, He Sat Down At The Right Hand Of The Majesty In Heaven.

Look at the words and phrases…"last days"…"heir of all things"…"made the universe"…"radiance of God's glory"…"exact representation"…"sustaining all things"…"purification"…"Majesty in heaven"

When our pain is raging, even raging against us, we have difficulty immersing ourselves into the meaning and power of these words. Those of us who have suffered for decades understand "last days" not only means the days just before Jesus returns, we understand "last days" means our remaining few days before we see Him face to face. The words "heir of all things" means to those of us who suffer that Christ will take all things into His being and in His being we shall not suffer anymore. To us, "made the universe" means what He made He shall unmake to restore all of us to a time and place where pain shall never exist again. The words "radiance of God's glory" means this glory shall beam into our being and in His glory we are healed. "Exact representation" means Jesus is exactly like God, and God is exactly like Jesus. We know the miracles Jesus did before He will do for us now or later. "Sustaining all things" means God and Jesus are holding us in the palm of their hand. Although we hurt, God and Jesus are holding us up until they take us on our glorious last ride into glory-land. The word "purification" for those of us in pain means there will be a future day when our ills, dysfunctions, sicknesses, and issues shall be purified away in God's glory and grace. Finally, there is the phrase "Majesty in heaven." We yearn, we yearn with a burning desire, to see, be with, and be a part of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit…all of which are the Majesty in Heaven.

Col. 1:21 Once You Were Alienated From God And Were Enemies In Your Minds Because Of Your Evil Behavior. 22 But Now He Has Reconciled You By Christ's Physical Body Through Death To Present You Holy In His Sight, Without Blemish And Free From Accusation--

Let's be honest. Pain turns us into someone we do not want to be. Who wants to be a wounded duck (perhaps better than a dead duck )? Pain makes us do things we would not normally do. If we use our utmost will power, pain can soften us so God can mold us and shape us. However, most often pain makes us do what we know in our heart is not the will of God. Satan uses pain to alienate us from God. In our alienated state of pain, Christ came to bring us to God free of our behaviors, free of our suffering, and free of our pain. Christ came to take away our hurts forever when we see Him in heaven.

John 10:17 The Reason My Father Loves Me Is That I Lay Down My Life--Only To Take It Up Again.

What does Jesus laying down His life only to take it up again have to do with your life and your pain? Let's look at things this way. Let's say you have been in pain for a very very long time. You want your pain to leave because your life is the pits when you are hurting. If you lived your life, ignored Christ, and died in your pain, wouldn't your ultimate punishment be eternal pain or eternal pain of nothingness? To hurt is one thing, but to hurt for no reason and to end up in just a black nothing after you hurt so much in this life is the ultimate hurt of hurts. Jesus died so you could live forever pain free. We do not know all about heaven because we have never been there. What we do know is there is no hurt in heaven. The power and influence of Satan joyfully creates your hurt. There is no hurt in heaven because the power and influence of Satan is kept out of heaven. You have an opportunity to have an eternal pain-free life because Christ gave up His life for you. Christ gave up His life so you would have a chance to live forever. This very moment as you read these words, Christ is calling you to turn away from the power of Satan in your life. Turn away from your sin and sinful desires. Turn away from Satan always making you hurt. Turn away and accept Christ as the only power who can save you form the worst hurt of all…eternal outer darkness full of nothing except torment.